When first released, the Philips IntelliVue system took the medical world by storm. Their M3001A Multi-Measurement Server (MMS) was sleek and efficient. Their monitoring system offered sophisticated network functionality. Many Hospitals jumped on board purchasing thousands of systems. Unfortunately, once the OEM warranty ran out, hospitals were overwhelmed by the expense of the M3001A module equipment failures.

Philips offered not a repair service, but an exchange program that slammed hospitals with nearly $2000 in exchange costs with every MMS failure. Since most hospitals purchased dozens of MMS modules, this expense soon became quite significant. To further complicate matters, Philips would not sell its customer’s repair parts for the most common failures. The above circumstances left many medical facilities with a severe case of buyer’s remorse.

This problem eventually filtered down to the Biomedical Engineering departments across the country. They went to work and did their due diligence. They searched through OEM service manuals only to find very basic information that did not address their repair needs. They contacted OEM technical support who could rarely offer any advice other than, “Send the unit in for an exchange. By the way, that will be $1753.89.” They attended OEM schools, but found that they did not address the troubleshooting of common hardware failures. Finally, some Biomed departments with the “do it yourself” mentality searched for Philips MMS schematics to aid in the repair, but this search yielded no fruit either.

Fortunately there are a few companies that can provide Quality M3001A repairs at highly competitive prices. This approach provides a cost-effective alternative to the OEM exchange program. Before going down that road, however, there is one common failure in the M3001A units that Biomedical Engineering Departments can fix themselves, thus saving considerable costs to their respective facilities. The common problem is the failure of an MMS module to communicate with its associated monitor. This problem can often be resolved by taking a close look at the M3001A module’s rear connector. Often times there are bent pins resulting from continuously disconnecting and reconnecting the module to the monitor. These pins can be straightened with a fine pair of tweezers. When you experience this problem with your modules check the rear connector as your first point in the troubleshooting process. You may very well save your facility an unnecessary expense.